<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>This Is How You Brew It by Katybug1992</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28652718">This Is How You Brew It</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katybug1992/pseuds/Katybug1992'>Katybug1992</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Magic AU [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Men's Hockey RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Magic, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 14:01:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,201</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28652718</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katybug1992/pseuds/Katybug1992</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mitch really wished Alexander would blink. It wasn’t totally insane that Mitch had only the minimum knowledge of all things magic - it was pretty well known that his dad hadn’t been the happiest to have a son with magic.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alexander Kerfoot/William Nylander, Mitch Marner/Auston Matthews, Robert Thomas/Matthew Tkachuk (mentioned) - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Magic AU [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2099820</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>This Is How You Brew It</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mitch really wished Alexander would blink. It wasn’t totally insane that Mitch had only the minimum knowledge of all things magic - it was pretty well known that his dad hadn’t been the happiest to have a son with magic.</p><p>“I just…” Alexander fumbled, “You don’t know how to brew… at all?”</p><p>Mitch shook his head, rubbing at the redness caused the the League Regulation “shackles” - he thinks Alexander’s going a little fair calling them that but then TK told him about how Nolan couldn’t even touch his. Maybe they just didn’t effect him as much because he wasn’t as in touch with his magic. </p><p>Mitch had come into his magic when he was ten and his dad immediately took him to a specialist to see if the magic could be removed, worried it effect Mitch’s hockey. The doctor just told him where to get the regular binders. And Mitch had never felt much difference with the leather binders on or off, just knew that when they were on there was no worry about accidentally sending a tornado through the room because he was upset.</p><p>But the shackles felt different. And he had hated them when he first put them on. He didn’t fee; right. And Alexander - Alexander winced everytime they clicked into place. And Mitch wished he had that connection to his magic. Alexander - who had grown up with his magic, whose family embraced it even when he was the only one in the family who possessed it. </p><p>Alexander’s family had gotten him a magic teacher - there was a more technical term for it but Mitch couldn’t remember it. And Alexander knew spells and potions and elixirs and the difference between those last two. He knew what worked best for healing and how to maximize its effectiveness and how to make the product specific.</p><p>Mitch had wandered into the magic store he knew Kerf went to and had been immediately overwhelmed and grabbed the peppermint ointment the store owner had told him would help. And while his wrists didn’t burn the way they had been, he was pretty sure they shouldn’t be staying red...and that they shouldn’t be as dark as they were.</p><p>He had asked Kerf about it and Kerf demanded to see the bottle.</p><p>“Well, it’s oil based, so that’s one problem,” Alexander muttered, looking over the ingredients, “But the main issue with it is that Peppermint isn’t one of your Healers.”</p><p>“Healers?” Mitch’s face had scrunched up in confusion.</p><p>“The ingredients used in potions, elixirs, etc. for healing. There are some universal ingredients but that’s more blanket. For it to really work, it needs to be tailored to you. Peppermint… I mean, it’s going to help the burning because that’s what it does, but it won’t actually heal. That’s why your wrists look as bad as they do. And oil-based… it’s just not as good in quality and can make it unstable. Especially since it’s from the bottle and store-bought. It’s going to work more if you make it yourself, especially since it’ll tie into your magical core.”</p><p>“I...I don’t know how to do that.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I...my dad didn’t exactly encourage my magic and so I never really learned anything except how to control it.”</p><p> </p><p>And that is how Mitch ended up in Alexander’s apartment, trying to ignore the glee radiating off of Auston and Willy. Although Willy’s glee was definitely mixed with several things Mitch hadn’t wanted to think about. The blond had definitely fallen hard for Alexander and Mitch had never thought he would see the day Willy would be tied down - not that he had acted on it (Alexander just thought it was Willy being Willy and Mitch had to listen to Willy complain about it several times).</p><p>So Mitch stood in Alexander’s kitchen and ignored Auston’s amused smirk - the younger man had been telling Mitch he should learn more about his magic for four years now.</p><p>Mitch stuck his tongue out at Auston before turning his attention to Alexander, who was heating up a pot and grabbing…. Ice cubes?</p><p>“What’s that?” Mitch asked, eyes widening as light blue smoke came from the pot shortly after Alexander dropped them into the empty pot.</p><p>“My starter,” Alexander replied. Before Mitch could ask the follow up, he continued, “A starter is the base of any potion. You can buy it in powder form - add it to hot water - or liquid. But homemade tends to work better. You can make it more stable because you know exactly what’s in it and how much. I make a large batch when I get low and freeze it.”</p><p>Mitch slowly got closer to the stove and glanced in, to see the ice cubes melting quickly into a blue-grey, thick liquid.</p><p>“Is it supposed to be that color?” Mitch asked.</p><p>Alexander smiled as he grabbed a wooden spoon and stirred it a little bit, “Yeah. That’s the color most starters are. It’ll change once the other ingredients are added.”</p><p>“Okay. So, you don’t want to use all oils and extracts. You can, but it’ll make your starter unstable and it won’t fully incorporate,” Alexander started, heading over to the pantry, “For something like this, you’re going to want to use all dry ingredients. You’ll need to grind them into a powder and then dissolve them in the starter before adding anything else.”</p><p>“How do I know what my - what did you call them? Healers? - are?”</p><p>Alexander opened the pantry and several vials and jars floated out and circled around Mitch.</p><p>“Tumeric, sunflower petal, saffron,” Alexander muttered and Mitch’s eyes widened as the items the shorter man listed off floated over to the counter, “pine needle, and wintermint.”</p><p>And Mitch’s eyes grew even wider when the ingredients not chosen rushed back to the pantry, jaw dropping as Alexander said, “There’s no rush. And put yourselves away where you came from,” and they obeyed.</p><p>“I can’t teach you if you’re not paying attention,” Alexander’s voice drew Mitch’s attention back over to him.</p><p>“Sorry, just -”</p><p>“You haven’t been exposed to magic,” Alexander’s eyes twinkled.</p><p>“I mean, I know other players. I was in London when Robby Thomas’ magic reacted to Matthew Tkachuk’s,” Mitch rolled his eyes. There had been literal fireworks the minute their eyes had met and Matthew had been wrapped around Robby’s finger ever since.</p><p>“Yeah, but you haven’t been exposed exposed.”</p><p>“I guess not.”</p><p>Alexander smiled softly and gestured for Mitch to join him at the kitchen island, “You don’t need a lot.”</p><p>Alexander guided Mitch through adding the appropriate amount of each ingredient to the mortar and handed the pestle over, “You’re going to grind these into a fine powder.”</p><p>“Can you only use dry or -”</p><p>“Dry is best for potions, especially if you're making a healing ointment. You need it to be smooth. For other kinds of potions, there are ingredients that help in dissolving everything. For an ointment, you never want to use all oils or extracts. You can, but it’ll separate and also won’t work as well.”</p><p>Mitch listened and ground the ingredients as Alexander patiently answered his questions and Mitch felt a little bubble of resentment toward his dad forming. Alexander’s family had embraced his magic. They encouraged it and they encouraged him to grow in his magic. They acknowledged that it was part of him. He asked Alexander about brewing and about how Alexander got into it.</p><p>“My tutor noticed that I had an affinity for it. I mean, spells are fun and all, but brewing? My siblings could help with that.” Alexander replied, “It gives me a way to share my magic with them. Make them feel like part of it. And… it’s a way I can help people. Potions… they don’t just work for people with magic. I… I hope I can eventually create something that can help people.”</p><p>“My dad wouldn’t even let me read the pamphlets I got,” Mitch responded, “He took them away, threw them out. He got the strongest binders he could get, said nothing would get in the way of hockey. I… I never had time for anything but hockey anyway. So…. But, Connor would encourage it, so would Dylan. And I could do little things, but I was always afraid of how my dad would react if he found out.</p><p>“And then Chucky - Matthew Tkachuk joined the Knights. And Robby Thomas. And…. Robby is the only one in his family who has magic, but Chucky isn’t. And I would see them interact with each other and with Chucky’s family. And they actually had to get their binders strengthened because their magic would try to protect the other. And they encouraged me to use mine more. But every time I did… I just felt like I was letting my dad down.”</p><p>“If you ever want to practice, let me know,” Alexander smiled softly, “I’ll help you.”</p><p>“Thanks.”</p><p>Mitch grinned over at Alexander.</p><p>“Okay, it looks good,” Alexander grinned, “Now, pick up the mortar and close your eyes.”</p><p>Mitch did as he was told and Alexander continued, “Now, focus on the feel of your magic under your skin. And push it toward your hands and into the mortar.”</p><p>Mitch felt his brow furrow as he tried to do what Alexander said. And he had some difficulty locating his magic under his skin. After he located it, it seemed to resist what he wanted to do and he made a note to ask Alexander about that. But eventually he was able to push it. And when he opened his eyes, they widened when he saw the mortar seeming to glow Leafs Blue.</p><p>Alexander huffed out a laugh and said, “No doubt you were born to be a Leafs, huh?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Your magic aura,” Alexander nodded at the now pulsing glow around the mortar, “It’s a reflection of you.”</p><p>And Mitch didn’t know how to respond, so he let Alexander take the mortar and watched as he poured it into the pot and his eyes widened as the pale grey liquid instantly turned a yellow-orange color. </p><p>“Give me your hand and don’t worry about it,” Alexander instructed and Mitch did he was told and then yelped when he felt a prick and watch a couple drops of his blood fall into the pot, “Blood ties it even more to you. Blood magic is more common in the Celtic and the French traditions. My tutor was a scholar of the French tradition.”</p><p>Alexander added what looked like half a drop of the wintermint oil and then handed the wooden spoon to Mitch.</p><p>“Stir clockwise until I tell you to stop,” Alexander instructed, “the length of time varies depending on the starter you use.”</p><p>Mitch nodded and did as he was told as Alexander grabbed a jar of what looked like lotion.</p><p>“It’s basically lotion,” Alexander chuckled, seeing Mitch’s look, “It’s been modified to interact with healing potions.”</p><p>When Alexander gave the word, he stopped stirring and watched as Alexander emptied the jar into the pot and put the lid on, turning down the heat on the stove.</p><p>“Now, we let it sit and incorporate,” Alexander smiled, starting to clean up the work space.</p><p>And Mitch looked over at Willy and stifled a laugh. The blond was tracking Alexander’s movements with his eyes and he seemed to be going through it.</p><p>“Wanna order pizza?” Mitch asked as he settled down on the couch next to Auston and smiling as the bigger man’s arm settled around him.</p><p>“Sure,” Alexander replied, “the ointment will be good to go in about an hour, just so you know.”</p><p>+</p><p>By the time they finished the pizza, the ointment was ready. Alexander turned off the heat entirely and picked up the wooden spoon and stirred, saying something in French that Mitch didn’t get but he did enjoy watching Willy’s brain explode. And he didn’t miss the pleased look on Alexander’s face when the shorter man noticed Willy’s expression.</p><p>And when Mitch and Auston left - Willy saying he would stay behind to help “clean up” and he really needed to be more subtle in the future because Auston was just waiting for the chance to Fine him - it was with the pale yellow ointment (“Apply it an hour before you put the bindings on and then immediately after you take them off. I’m serious.”) and what may be every book on magic ever written.</p><p> </p><p>Later that night night, he was laying on his couch - head in Auston’s lap, Zeus chilling on his legs - reading one of the beginner’s guides.</p><p>“Hey, Aus,” Mitch set the book down, “check it out.”</p><p>Mitch set the book down and closed his eyes, focusing on his palm. When he opened them, he was pleasantly surprised to see a Leaf’s Blue rose made of sparkling aura floating above his palm.</p><p>“I’m proud of you, Mitchy,” Auston replied, voice warm and fond, and he bent down and kissed Mitch.</p><p>Mitch grinned up at him in response, even as the rose seemed to transform itself into an exploding firework.</p><p>+</p><p>Apparently - according to Willy - Alexander didn’t always have full control of his magic and Mitch didn’t want to dwell too long on how he found that out.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>